"Alex is a high-end, skilled player and a proven point producer," said Waddell. "We feel he's ready to make the transition to North America and look forward to watching his continued growth next season."
Pashin, 19, recorded 30 points (17g, 13a) in 34 regular-season games with Toros Neftekamsk of the VHL, Russia's second-highest professional league. He added 12 points (4g, 8a) in 11 playoff games as Neftekamsk fell in the VHL quarterfinals. The 5'8", 154-pound forward led the team in goals during the regular season and paced the team in both goals and points during the postseason, and he has now tallied 31 points (17g, 14a) in 43 career VHL games with Neftekamsk over the past three seasons. Pashin also earned two assists in two games with Tolpar Ufa of the MHL, Russia's top junior league, and he has posted 96 points (42g, 54a) in 97 career MHL games with Ufa since debuting in 2018-19. He led Ufa in goals (19), assists (26) and points (45) in 41 MHL games last season. Pashin has also skated in four career Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) games with Salavat Yulaev Ufa, but he did not make any KHL appearances in 2021-22. The Priyutovo, Russia, native has also represented his home country at numerous international tournaments. Pashin was named the Best Forward at the 2021 Under-20 Four Nations Tournament, leading all skaters in goals (4) and points (6). He also helped Russia to gold medals at the 2018 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he finished second in goals (7) and third in points (8) among all skaters and scored the game-winning goal in the gold medal game against Canada. Pashin was selected by the Hurricanes in the seventh round (199th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft.
